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JW 12.31.01




*** MSTART 001 181.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1903 ***
The General Assembly shall not impose taxes for the purposes of any county, city, town or other
municipal corporation, but may, by general laws, confer on the proper authorities thereof,
respectively, the power to assess and collect such taxes. The General Assembly may, by general
laws only, provide for the payment of license fees on franchises, stock used for breeding purposes,
the various trades, occupations and professions, or a special or excise tax; and may, by general
laws, delegate the power to counties, towns, cities and other municipal corporations, to impose
and collect license fees on stock used for breeding purposes, on franchises, trades, occupations
and professions. And the General Assembly may, by general laws only, authorize cities or towns
of any class to provide for taxation for municipal purposes on personal property, tangible and
intangible, based on income, licenses or franchises, in lieu of an ad valorem tax thereon: Provided,
Cities of the first class shall not be authorized to omit the imposition of an ad valorem tax on such
property of any steam railroad, street railway, ferry, bridge, gas, water, heating, telephone,
telegraph, electric light or electric power company. 
(Amended 11/3/1903)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 002 157.5 9017.0 0 KY 1890 1909 ***
The credit of the Commonwealth may be given, pledged or loaned to any county of the
Commonwealth for public road purposes, and any county may be permitted to incur an
indebtedness in any amount fixed by the county, not in excess of five per centum of the value of
the taxable property therein, for public road purposes in said county, provided said additional
indebtedness is submitted to the voters of the county for their ratification or rejection at a special
election held for said purpose, in such manner as may be provided by law and when any such
indebtedness is incurred by any county said county may levy, in addition to the tax rate allowed
under Section 157 of the Constitution of Kentucky, an amount not exceeding twenty cents on the
one hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of said county for the purpose of paying the interest
on said indebtedness and providing a sinking fund for the payment of said indebtedness.
(Added by amendment 11/2/1909)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 003 171.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1915 ***
The General Assembly shall provide by law an annual tax, which, with other resources, shall be
sufficient to defray the estimated expenses of the Commonwealth for each fiscal year. Taxes shall
be levied and collected for public purposes only and shall be uniform upon all property of the
same class subject to taxation within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax; and all
taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws.

The General Assembly shall have power to divide property into classes and to determine what
class or classes of property shall be subject to local taxation. Bonds of the state and of counties,
municipalities, taxing and school districts shall not be subject to taxation.

Any law passed or enacted by the General Assembly pursuant to the provisions of or under this
amendment, or amended section of the Constitution, classifying property and providing a lower
rate of taxation on personal property, tangible or intangible, than upon real estate shall be subject
to the referendum power of the people, which is hereby declared to exist to apply only to this
section, or amended section. The referendum may be demanded by the people against one or more
items, sections, or parts of any act enacted pursuant to or under the power granted by this
amendment, or amended section. The referendum petition shall be filed with the Secretary of State
not more than four months after the final adjournment of the Legislative Assembly which passed
the bill on which the referendum is demanded. The veto power of the Governor shall not extend
to measures referred to the people under this section. All elections on measures referred to the
people under this act shall be at the regular general election, except when the Legislative
Assembly shall order a special election. Any measure referred to the people shall take effect and
become a law when approved by the majority of the votes cast thereon, and not otherwise. The
whole number of votes cast for the candidates for Governor at the regular election, last preceding
the filing of any petition, shall be the basis upon which the legal voters necessary to sign such
petition shall be counted. The power of the referendum shall be ordered by the Legislative
Assembly at any time any acts or bills are enacted, pursuant to the power granted under this
section or amended section, prior to the year of one thousand nine hundred and seventeen. After
that time the power of the referendum may be ordered either by the petition signed by five percent
of the legal voters or by the Legislative Assembly at the time said acts or bills are enacted. The
General Assembly enacting the bill shall provide a way by which the act shall be submitted to the
people. The filing of a referendum petition against one or more items, sections or parts of an act,
shall not delay the remainder of that act from becoming operative.
(Amended 11/2/1915)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 004 253.0 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1915 ***
Persons convicted of felony and sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary shall be confined at
labor within the walls of the penitentiary; and the General Assembly shall not have the power to
authorize employment of convicts elsewhere, except upon the public works of the Commonwealth
of Kentucky, or when, during pestilence or in case of the destruction of the prison buildings, they
cannot be confined in the penitentiary.

That Section 253 of the Constitution be amended so that the Commonwealth of Kentucky may
use and employ outside of the walls of the penitentiaries in such manner and means as may be
provided by law, persons convicted of felony and sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary for
the purpose of constructing or reconstructing and maintaining public roads and public bridges or
for the purpose of making and preparing material for public roads and bridges, and that the
Commonwealth of Kentucky may, by the use and employment of convict labor outside of the
walls of the penitentiary by other ways or means, as may be provided by law, aid the counties for
road and bridge purposes, work on the State farm or farms.
(Amended 11/2/1915)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 005 201.0 9019.0 0 KY 1890 1917 ***
No railroad, telegraph, telephone, bridge or common carrier company shall consolidate its capital
stock, franchises or property, or pool its earnings, in whole or in part, with any other railroad,
telegraph, telephone, bridge or common carrier company owning a parallel or competing line or
structure, or acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise, any parallel or competing line or structure,
or operate the same; nor shall any railroad company or other common carrier combine or make
any contract with the owners of any vessel that leaves or makes port in this State, or with any
common carrier, by which combination or contract the earnings of one doing the carrying are to
be shared by the other not doing the carrying: Provided, however, That telephone companies may
acquire by purchase or lease, or otherwise, and operate, parallel or competing exchanges, lines
and structures, and the property of other telephone companies, if the Railroad Commission or
such other State commission as may have jurisdiction over such matters shall first consent thereto,
and if, further, each municipality wherein such property or any part thereof is located shall also
first consent thereto as to the property within its limits, but under any such acquisition and
operation toll line connections with the property so acquired shall be continued and maintained
under an agreement between the purchasing company and the toll line companies then furnishing
such service, and in the event they are unable to agree as to the terms of such an agreement the
Railroad Commission or such other State commission as may have jurisdiction over such matters,
shall fix the term of such agreement.
(Amended 11/6/1917)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 006 226.5 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1919 ***
After June 30, 1920, the manufacture, sale or transportation of spirituous, vinous, malt or other
intoxicating liquors, except for sacramental, medicinal, scientific or mechanical purposes, in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, is hereby prohibited. All sections or parts thereof of the
constitution, insofar as they may be inconsistent with this section, are hereby repealed and
nullified.  The general assembly shall enforce this section by appropriate legislation.
(Added by amendment, 11/4/1919)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 007 227.0 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1919 ***
Judges of the County Court, Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, Surveyors, Jailers,
Assessors, County Attorneys and Constables shall be subject to indictment or prosecution for
misfeasance or malfeasance in office, or willful neglect in discharge of official duties, in such
mode as may be prescribed by law, and upon conviction his office shall become vacant, but such
officer shall have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeals. Provided, also, that the General
Assembly may, in addition to the indictment or prosecution above provided, by general law,
provide other manner, method or mode for the vacation of office, or the removal from office of
any sheriff, jailer, constable or peace officer for neglect of duty, and may provide the method,
manner or mode of reinstatement of such officers.
(Amended 11/4/1919)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 008 061.0 9005.0 0 KY 1890 1935 ***
The General Assembly shall, by general law, provide a means whereby the sense of the people of
any county, city, town, district or precinct may be taken, as to whether or not spirituous, vinous
or malt liquors shall be sold, bartered or loaned therein, or the sale thereof regulated. But nothing
herein shall be construed to interfere with or to repeal any law in force relating to the sale or gift
of such liquors. All elections on this question may be held on a day other than the regular election
days.
(Amended 11/5/1935)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 009 226.5 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1935 ***
(REPEALED)
After June 30, 1920, the manufacture, sale or transportation of spirituous, vinous, malt or other
intoxicating liquors, except for sacramental, medicinal, scientific or mechanical purposes, in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, is hereby prohibited. All sections or parts thereof of the
constitution, insofar as they may be inconsistent with this section, are hereby repealed and
nullified.  The general assembly shall enforce this section by appropriate legislation.
(Added by amendment, 11/4/1919)
(Repealed 11/5/1935)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 010 244.5 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1935 ***
The assembly shall prescribe such laws as may be necessary for the granting and paying of old
persons an annuity or pension.
(Added by amendment, 11/5/1935)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 011 147.0 9015.0 0 KY 1890 1941 ***
The general assembly shall provide by law for the registration of all persons entitled to vote in
cities and towns having a population of five thousand or more; and may provide by general law
for the registration of other voters in the State. Where registration is required, only persons
registered shall have the right to vote. The mode of registration shall be prescribed by the general
assembly. In all elections by persons in a representative capacity, the voting shall be viva voce and
made a matter of record; but all elections by the people shall be by secret official ballot, furnished
by public authority to the voters at the polls, and marked by each voter in private at the polls, and
then and there deposited. Provided that counties so desiring may use voting machines, these
machines to be installed at the expense of such counties. The word "elections" in this section
includes the decision of questions submitted to the voters, as well as the choice of officers by
them. The first general assembly held after the adoption of this Constitution shall pass all
necessary laws to enforce this provision, and shall provide that persons illiterate, blind, or in any
way disabled, may have their ballots marked and/or voted as herein required. 
(Amended 11/1941.)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 012 186.0 9007.0 0 KY 1890 1941 ***
All funds accruing to the school fund shall be used for the maintenance of the public schools of
the Commonwealth, and for no other purpose, and the General Assembly shall by general law
prescribe the manner of the distribution and use of the public school fund for public school
purposes. Provided that each school district in the Commonwealth shall receive on a census pupil
basis its proportionate part of at least ninety percent of any fund accruing to the school fund. The
remainder of any fund accruing to the school fund may be distributed upon other than a census
pupil basis.
(Amended 11/1941.)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 013 147.0 9015.0 0 KY 1890 1945 ***
The General Assembly shall provide by law for the registration of all persons entitled to vote in
cities and towns having a population of five thousand or more; and may provide by general law
for the registration of other voters in the state. Where registration is required, only persons
registered shall have the right to vote. The mode of registration shall be prescribed by the General
Assembly. In all elections by persons in a representative capacity, the voting shall be viva voce
and made a matter of record; but all elections by the people shall be by secret official ballot,
furnished by public authority to the voters at the polls, and marked by each voter in private at the
polls, and then and there deposited, or any person absent from the county of his legal residence,
or from the state, may be permitted to vote in a manner provided by law. Counties so desiring
may use voting machines, these machines to be installed at the expense of such counties. The
word "elections" in this section includes the decision of questions submitted to the voters, as well
as the choice of officers by them. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws to enforce
this section, and shall provide that persons illiterate, blind, or in any way disabled may have their
ballots marked or voted as herein required.
(Amended 11/1941)
(Amended 11/6/1945)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 014 230.0 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1945 ***
No money shall be drawn from the State Treasury, except in pursuance of appropriations made by
law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall
be published annually. No money derived from excise or license taxation relating to gasoline and
other motor fuels, and no moneys derived from fees, excise or license taxation relating to
registration, operation, or use of vehicles on public highways shall be expended for other than the
cost of administration, statutory refunds and adjustments, payment of highway obligations, costs
for construction, reconstruction, rights-of-way, maintenance and repair of public highways and
bridges, and expense of enforcing state traffic and motor vehicle laws.
(Amended 11/6/1945)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 015 186.0 9007.0 0 KY 1890 1949 ***
All funds accruing to the school fund shall be used for the maintenance of the public schools of
the Commonwealth, and for no other purpose, and the General Assembly shall by general law
prescribe the manner of the distribution and use of the public school fund for public school
purposes. Provided that each school district in the Commonwealth shall receive on a census pupil
basis its proportionate part of at least seventy five percent of any fund accruing to the school
fund. The remainder of any fund accruing to the school fund may be distributed upon other than a
census pupil basis.
(Amended 11/1941)
(Amended 11/8/1949)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 016 246.0 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1949 ***
No public officer or employee except the Governor, shall receive as compensation per annum for
official services, exclusive of the compensation of legally authorized deputies and assistants which
shall be fixed and provided for by law, but inclusive of allowance for living expenses, if any, as
may be fixed and provided for by law, any amount in excess of the following sums: Officers
whose jurisdiction or duties are coextensive with the Commonwealth, the mayor of any city of the
first class, and Judges and Commissioners of the Court of Appeals, Twelve Thousand Dollars
($12,000); Circuit Judges, Eight Thousand Four Hundred Dollars ($8,400); all other public
officers, Seven Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($7,200). Compensation within the limits of this
amendment may be authorized by the General Assembly to be paid, but not retroactively, to
public officers in office at the time of its adoption, or who are elected at the election at which this
amendment is adopted. Nothing in this amendment shall permit any officer to receive, for the year
1949, any compensation in excess of the limit in force prior to the adoption of this amendment.
(Amended 11/8/1949)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 017 186.0 9007.0 0 KY 1890 1953 ***
All funds accruing to the school fund shall be used for the maintenance of the public schools of
the
Commonwealth, and for no other purpose, and the General Assembly shall by general law
prescribe the manner of the distribution of the public school fund among the school districts and
its use for public school purposes.
(Amended 11/1941)
(Amended 11/8/1949)
(Amended 11/3/1953)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 018 145.0 9015.0 0 KY 1890 1955 ***
Every citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years who has resided in the state one
year, and in the county six months, and the precinct in which he offers to vote sixty days next
preceding the election, shall be a voter in said precinct and not elsewhere but the following
persons are excepted and shall not have the right to vote.

1. Persons convicted in any court of competent jurisdiction of treason, or felony, or bribery in an
election, or of such high misdemeanor as the General Assembly may declare shall operate as an
exclusion from the right of suffrage, but persons hereby excluded may be restored to their civil
rights by executive pardon.

2. Persons who, at the time of the election, are in confinement under the judgment of a court for
some penal offense.

3. Idiots and insane persons.
(Amended 11/8/1955)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 019 170.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1955 ***
There shall be exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; places actually used
for religious worship, with the grounds attached thereto and used and appurtenant to the house of
worship, not exceeding one-half acre in cities or towns, and not exceeding two acres in the
country; places of burial not held for private or corporate profit, institutions of purely public
charity, and institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any person or corporation,
and the income of which is devoted solely to the cause of education, public libraries, their
endowments, and the income of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance; all
parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, and for no
other purpose, by the minister of any religion, with not exceeding one-half acre of ground in
towns and cities and two acres of ground in the country appurtenant thereto; household goods of
a person used in his home; crops grown in the year in which the assessment is made, and in the
hands of the producer; and all laws exempting or omitting property from. taxation other than the
property above mentioned shall be void. The General Assembly may authorize any incorporated
city or town to exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal taxation, for a period not
exceeding five years, as an inducement to
their location.
(Amended 11/8/1955)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 020 172.5 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1969 ***
Assessment for ad valorem tax purposes of agricultural and horticultural land.

Notwithstanding contrary provisions of Sections 171, 172, or 174 of this Constitution --

The General Assembly shall provide by general law for the assessment for ad valorem tax
purposes of agricultural and horticultural land according to the land's value for agricultural or
horticultural use. The General Assembly may provide that any change in land use from
agricultural or horticultural to another use shall require the levy of an additional tax not to exceed
the additional amount that would have been owing had the land been assessed under Section 172
of this Constitution for the current year and the two next preceding years.

The General Assembly may provide for reasonable differences in the rate of ad valorem taxation
within different areas of the same taxing districts on that class of property which includes the
surface of the land. Those differences shall relate directly to differences between nonrevenue-
producing governmental services and benefits giving land urban character which are furnished in
one or several areas in contrast to other areas of the taxing district.
(Added by amendment 11/4/1969)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 021 170.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1971 ***
There shall be exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; places actually used
for religious worship, with the grounds, attached thereto and used and appurtenant to the house
of worship, not exceeding one-half acre in cities or towns, and not exceeding two acres in the
country; places of burial not held for private or corporate profit, institutions of purely public
charity, and institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any person or corporation,
and the income of which is devoted solely to the cause of education, public libraries, their
endowments, and the income of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance: all
parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, and for no
other purpose, by the minister of any religion, with not exceeding one-half acre of ground in
towns and cities and two acres of ground in the country appurtenant thereto: household goods of
a person used in his home; a homestead, which is a single-unit residential property maintained by
the owner, who is sixty-five years of age or older, his personal residence, up to the assessed
valuation of sixty-five hundred dollars on said residence and contiguous real property, except for
assessment for special benefits; crops grown in the year in which the Assessment is made, and in
the hands of the producer; and all laws  exempting property from  taxation other than the property
above mentioned shall be void. The General Assembly may authorize Any incorporated city or
town to exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal taxation, for a period not exceeding
five years, as an inducement to their location. 
(Amended 11/8/1955)
(Amended 11/2/1971)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 022 109.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
The judicial power of the Commonwealth shall be vested exclusively in one Court of Justice
which shall be divided into a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals, a trial court of general
jurisdiction known as the Circuit Court and a trial court of limited jurisdiction known as the
District Court. The court shall constitute a unified judicial system for operation and
administration. The impeachment powers of the General Assembly shall remain inviolate.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 023 110.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(1) The Supreme Court shall consist of the Chief Justice of the Commonwealth and six associate
Justices.

(2) (a) The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only, except it shall have the power to
issue all writs necessary in aid of its appellate jurisdiction, or the complete determination of any
cause, or as may be required to exercise control of the Court of Justice.

(b) Appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court imposing a sentence of death or life
imprisonment or imprisonment for twenty years or more shall be taken directly to the Supreme
Court. In all other cases, criminal and civil, the Supreme Court shall exercise appellate jurisdiction
as provided by its rules.

(3) A majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business. If as many as two Justices decline or are unable to sit in the trial of any cause, the
Chief Justice shall certify that fact to the Governor, who shall appoint to try the particular cause a
sufficient number of Justices to constitute a full court for the trial of the cause.

(4) The Court of Appeals districts existing on the effective date of this amendment to the
Constitution shall constitute the initial Supreme Court districts. The General Assembly thereafter
may redistrict the Commonwealth, by counties, into seven Supreme Court districts as nearly equal
in population and as compact in form as possible. There shall be one Justice from each Supreme
Court district.

(5) (a) The Justices of the Supreme Court shall elect one of their number to serve as Chief Justice
for a term of four years.

(b) The Chief Justice of the Commonwealth shall be the executive head of the Court of Justice
and he shall appoint such administrative assistants as he deems necessary. He shall assign
temporarily any justice or judge of the Commonwealth, active or retired, to sit in any court other
than the Supreme Court when he deems such assignment necessary for the prompt disposition of
causes. The Chief Justice shall submit the budget for the Court of Justice and perform all other
necessary administrative functions relating to the court.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 024 111.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(1) The Court of Appeals shall consist initially of fourteen judges, an equal number to be selected
from each Supreme Court district. The number of judges thereafter shall be determined from time
to time by the General Assembly upon certification of necessity by the Supreme Court.

(2) The Court of Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction only, except that it may be authorized
by rules of the Supreme Court to review directly decisions of administrative agencies of the
Commonwealth, and it may issue all writs necessary in aid of its appellate jurisdiction, or the
complete determination of any cause within its appellate jurisdiction. In all other cases, it shall
exercise appellate jurisdiction as provided by law.

(3) The judges of the Court of Appeals shall elect one of their number to serve as Chief Judge for
a term of four years. The Chief Judge shall exercise such authority and perform such duties in the
administration of the Court of Appeals as are prescribed in this section or as may be prescribed by
the Supreme Court.

(4) The Court of Appeals shall divide itself into panels of not less than three judges. A panel may
decide a cause by the concurring vote of a majority of its judges. The Chief Judge shall make
assignments of judges to panels. The Court of Appeals shall prescribe the times and places in the
Commonwealth at which each panel shall sit.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 025 112.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(1) Circuit Court shall be held in each county.

(2) The Circuit Court districts existing on the effective date of this amendment to the Constitution
shall continue under the name "Judicial Circuits," the General Assembly having power upon
certification of the necessity therefor by the Supreme Court to reduce, increase or rearrange the
judicial districts.  A judicial circuit composed of more than one county shag be as compact in form
as possible and of contiguous counties. No county shall be divided in creating a judicial circuit.

(3) The number of circuit judges in each district existing on the effective date of this amendment
shall continue, the General Assembly having power upon certification of the necessity therefor by
the Supreme Court to change the number of circuit judges in any judicial circuit.

(4) In a judicial circuit having only one judge, he shag be the chief judge. In judicial circuits
having two or more judges, they shall select biennially a chief judge, and if they fail to do so
within a reasonable time, the Supreme Court shall designate the chief judge. The chief judge shall
exercise such authority and perform such duties in the administration of his judicial circuit as may
be prescribed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may provide by rules for administration
of judicial circuits by regions designated by it.

(5) The Circuit Court shall have original jurisdiction of all justiciable causes not vested in some
other court.  It shall have such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 026 113.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(1) District Court shall be held in each county.

(2) The Circuit Court districts existing on the effective date of this amendment shall continue for
District Court purposes under the name "Judicial Districts," the General Assembly having power
upon certification of the necessity therefor by the Supreme Court to reduce, increase or rearrange
the districts. A judicial district composed of more than one county shall be as compact in form as
possible and of contiguous counties. No county shall be divided in creating a judicial district.

(3) Each judicial district created by this amendment initially shall have at least one district judge
who shall serve as chief judge and there shall be such other district judges as the General
Assembly shall determine. The number of district judges in each judicial district thereafter shall be
determined by the General Assembly upon certification of necessity therefor by the Supreme
Court.

(4) In a judicial district having only one judge he shall be the chief judge. In those districts having
two or more judges they shall select biennially a chief judge and if they fail to do so within a
reasonable time, the Supreme Court shall designate the chief judge. The chief judge shall exercise
such authority and perform such duties in the administration of his district as may be prescribed by
the Supreme Court.

(5) In any county in which no district judge resides the chief judge of the district shall appoint a
trial commissioner who shall be a resident of such county and who shall be an attorney if one is
qualified and available. Other trial commissioners with like qualifications may be appointed by the
chief judge in any judicial district upon certification of the necessity therefor by the Supreme
Court.  All trial commissioners shall have power to perform such duties of the district court as
may be prescribed by the Supreme Court.

(6) The district court shall be a court of limited jurisdiction and shall exercise original jurisdiction
as may be provided by the General Assembly.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 027 114.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(1) The Supreme Court shall appoint a clerk to serve as it shall determine.

(2) The Court of Appeals shall appoint a clerk to serve as it shall determine.

(3) The clerks of the Circuit Court shall be elected in the manner provided elsewhere in this
Constitution. The clerks of the Circuit Court shall serve as the clerks of the District Court. The
clerks of the Circuit Court shall be removable from office by the Supreme Court upon good cause
shown.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 028 115.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
In all cases, civil and criminal, there shall be allowed as a matter of right at least one appeal to
another court, except that the Commonwealth may not appeal from a judgment of acquittal in a
criminal case, other than for the purpose of securing a certification of law, and the General
Assembly may prescribe that there shall be no appeal from that portion of a judgment dissolving a
marriage. Procedural rules shall provide for expeditious and inexpensive appeals. Appeals shall be
upon the record and not by trial de novo.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 029 116.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
The Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe rules governing its appellate jurisdiction,
rules for the appointment of commissioners and other court personnel, and rules of practice and
procedure for the Court of Justice. The Supreme Court shall, by rule, govern admission to the bar
and the discipline of members of the bar.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 030 117.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals, Circuit and District Court shall
be elected from their respective districts or circuits on a nonpartisan basis as provided by law.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 031 118.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(1) A vacancy in the office of a justice of the Supreme Court, or of a judge of the Court of
Appeals, circuit or district court which under Section 152 of this Constitution is to be filled by
appointment by the Governor shall be filled by the Governor from a list of three names presented
to him by the appropriate judicial nominating commission. If the Governor fails to make an
appointment from the list within sixty days from the date it is presented to him, the appointment
shall be made from the same list by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

(2) There shall be one judicial nominating commission for the Supreme Court and the Court of
Appeals, one for each judicial circuit and one for each judicial district, except that a circuit and
district having the same boundary shall have but one judicial nominating commission. Each
commission shall consist of seven members, one of whom shall be the chief justice of the Supreme
Court, who shall be chairman. Two members of each commission shall be members of the bar,
who shall be elected by their fellow members. The other four members shall be appointed by the
Governor from among persons not members of the bar, and these four shall include at least two
members of each of the two political parties of the Commonwealth having the largest number of
voters. Members of a judicial circuit or judicial district nominating commission must be residents
of the circuit or district, respectively, and the lawyer members of the commission shall be elected
by the members of the bar residing in the circuit or district, respectively. The terms of office of
members of judicial nominating commissions shall be fixed by the General Assembly. No person
shall be elected or appointed a member of a judicial nominating commission who holds any other
public office or any office in a political party or organization.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 032 119.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals and Circuit Court shall
severally hold their offices for terms of eight years, and judges of the District Court for terms of
four years. All terms commence on the first Monday in January next succeeding the regular
election for the office. No justice or judge may be deprived of his term of office by redistricting,
or by a reduction in the number of justices or judges.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 033 120.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
All justices and judges shall be paid adequate compensation which shall be fixed by the General
Assembly. All compensation and necessary expenses of the Court of Justice shall be paid out of
the State Treasury. The compensation of a justice or judge shall not be reduced during his term.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 034 121.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
Subject to rules of procedure to be established by the Supreme Court, and after notice and
hearing, any justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals, Circuit Court or
District Court may be retired for disability or suspended without pay or removed for good cause
by a commission composed of one judge of the Court of Appeals, selected by that court, one
circuit judge and one district judge selected by a majority vote of the circuit judges and district
judges, respectively, one member of the bar appointed by its governing body, and two persons,
not members of the bench or bar, appointed by the Governor. The commission shall be a state
body whose members shall hold office for four-year terms. Its actions shall be subject to judicial
review by the Supreme Court.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 035 122.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
To be eligible to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court or a judge of the Court of Appeals,
Circuit Court or District Court a person must be a citizen of the United States, licensed to
practice law in the courts of this Commonwealth, and have been a resident of this Commonwealth
and of the district from which he is elected for two years next preceding his taking office. In
addition, to be eligible to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals
or Circuit Court a person must have been a licensed attorney for at least eight years. No district
judge shall serve who has not been a licensed attorney for at least two years.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 036 123.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
During his term of office, no justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals,
Circuit Court or District Court shall engage in the practice of law, or run for elective office other
than judicial office, or hold any office in a political party or organization.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 037 124.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
Any remaining sections of the Constitution of Kentucky as it existed prior to the effective date of
this amendment which are in conflict with the provisions of amended Sections 110 through 125
are repealed to the extent of the conflict, but such amended sections are not intended to repeal
those parts of Sections 140 and 142 conferring nonjudicial powers and duties upon county judges
and justices of the peace. Nothing in such amended sections shall be construed to limit the powers
otherwise granted by this Constitution to the county judge as the chief executive, administrative
and fiscal officer of the county, or to limit the powers otherwise granted by the Constitution to the
justices of the peace or county commissioners as executive, administrative and fiscal officers of a
county, or of the fiscal court as a governing body of a county.
(Amended -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 038 125.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 039 126.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 040 127.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 041 128.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 042 129.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 043 130.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 044 131.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 045 132.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 046 133.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 047 134.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 048 135.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***

(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 049 136.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 050 137.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 051 138.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 052 139.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 053 141.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 054 143.0 9006.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
(REPEALED -- Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 055 170.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1976 ***
There shall be exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; places actually used
for religious worship, with the grounds attached thereto and used and appurtenant to the house of
worship, not exceeding one-half acre in cities or towns, and not exceeding two acres-in the
country; places of burial not held for private or corporate profit, institutions of purely public
charity, and institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any person or corporation,
and the income of which is devoted solely to the cause of education, public libraries, their
endowments, and the income of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance; all
parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, or residences
owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, and for no other purpose, by the minister
of any religion, with not exceeding one-half acre of ground in towns and cities and two acres of
ground in the country appurtenant thereto; household goods of a person used in his home; crops
grown in the year in which the assessment is made, and in the hands of the producer; and real
property maintained as the permanent residence of the owner, who is sixty-five years of age or
older, up to the assessed valuation of sixty-five hundred dollars on said residence and contiguous
real property, except for assessment for special benefits. The real property may be held by legal or
equitable title, by the entireties, jointly, in common, as a condominium, or indirectly by the stock
ownership or membership representing the owners or member's proprietary interest in a
corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially in excess of ninety-eight years. The exemption
shall apply only to the value of the real property assessable to the owner or, in case of ownership
through stock or membership in a corporation the value of the proportion which has interest in the
corporation bears to the assessed value of the property. All laws exempting or omitting property
from taxation other than the property above mentioned shall be void. The General Assembly may
authorize any incorporated city or town to exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal
taxation, for a period not exceeding five years, as an inducement to their location.
(Amended 11/8/1955)
(Amended 11/2/1971)
(Amended 11/4/1975, Effective 1/1/1976)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 056 030.0 9005.0 0 KY 1890 1979 ***
Members of the House of Representatives and Senators shall be elected at the general election in
even-numbered years for terms of four years for Senators and two years for members of the
House of Representatives. The term of office of Representatives and Senators shall begin upon
the first day of January of the year succeeding their election.
(Amended 11/6/1979)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 057 031.0 9005.0 0 KY 1890 1979 ***
At the general election to be held in November, 1984, and every two years thereafter, there shall
be elected for four years one Senator in each Senatorial District in which the term of his
predecessor in office will then expire and in every Representative District one Representative for
two years.
(Amended 11/6/1979)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 058 036.0 9005.0 0 KY 1890 1979 ***
The General Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January in odd-
numbered years for a period not to exceed ten legislative days for the purposes of electing
legislative leaders, adopting rules of procedure and the organizing of committees. The General
Assembly shall then adjourn until the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the
following even-numbered years, at which time the General Assembly shall convene in regular
session, and its sessions shall be held at the seat of government, except in case of war,
insurrection or pestilence, when it may, by proclamation of the Governor, assemble, for the time
being, elsewhere.
(Amended 11/6/1979)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 059 042.0 9005.0 0 KY 1890 1979 ***
The members of the General Assembly shall severally receive from the State Treasury
compensation for their services: Provided, No change shall take effect during the session at which
it is made; nor shall a session of the General Assembly continue beyond sixty legislative days,
exclusive of Sundays, legal holidays or any day on which neither House meets, except that no
regular session shall extend beyond April 15 of even numbered years; but this limitation as to
length of session shall not apply to the Senate when sitting as a court of impeachment. A
legislative day shall be construed to mean a calendar day.
(Amended 11/6/1979)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 060 256.0 9012.0 0 KY 1890 1979 ***
Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in either House of the General Assembly at a
regular session, and if such amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by three-fifths of all the
members elected to each House, such proposed amendment or amendments, with the yeas and
nays of the members of each House taken thereon, shall be entered in full in their respective
journals. Then such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the voters of the
State for their ratification or rejection at the next general election for members of the House of
Representatives, the vote to be taken thereon in such manner as the General Assembly may
provide, and to be certified by the officers of election to the Secretary of State in such manner as
shall be provided by law, which vote shall be compared and certified by the same board authorized
by law to compare the polls and give certificates of election to officers for the State at large. If it
shall appear that a majority of the votes cast for and against an amendment at said election was
for the amendment, then the same shall become a part of the Constitution of this Commonwealth,
and shall be so proclaimed by the Governor, and published in such manner as the General
Assembly may direct. Said amendments shall not be submitted at an election which occurs less
than ninety days from the final passage of such proposed amendment or amendments. Not more
than four amendments shall be voted upon at any one time. If two or more amendments shall be
submitted at the same time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors shall vote for
or against each of such amendments separately, but an amendment may relate to a single subject
or to related subject matters and may amend or modify as many articles and as many sections of
the Constitution as may be necessary and appropriate in order to accomplish the objectives of the
amendment. The approval of the Governor shall not be necessary to any bill, order, resolution or
vote of the General Assembly, proposing an amendment or amendments to this Constitution,
(Amended 11/6/1979)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 061 170.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1981 ***
There shall be exempted from taxation public property used for public purposes; places actually
used for religious worship, with the grounds attached thereto and used and appurtenant to the
house of worship, not exceeding one-half acre in cities or towns, and not exceeding two acres in
the country; places of burial not held for private or corporate profit, institutions of purely public
charity, and institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any person or corporation,
and the income of which is devoted solely to the cause of education, public libraries, their
endowments, and the income of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance; all
parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, or residences
owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, and for no other purpose, by the minister
of any religion, with not exceeding one-half acre of ground in towns and cities and two acres of
ground in the country appurtenant thereto; household goods of a person used in his home; crops
grown in the year in which the assessment is made, and in the hands of the producer; and real
property maintained as the permanent residence of the owner, who is sixty-five years of age or
older, or is classified as totally disabled under a program authorized or administered by an agency
of the United States government or by the railroad retirement system, provided the property
owner received disability payments pursuant to such disability classification, has maintained such
disability classification for the entirety of the particular taxation period, and has filed with the
appropriate local assessor by December 31 of the taxation period, on forms provided therefor, a
signed statement indicating continuing disability as provided herein made under penalty of perjury,
up to the assessed valuation of sixty-five hundred dollars on said residence and contiguous real
property, except for assessment for special benefits. The real property may be held by legal or
equitable title, by the entireties, jointly, in common, as a condominium, or indirectly by the stock
ownership or membership representing the owner's or member's proprietary interest in a
corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially, in excess of ninety-eight years. The exemptions
shall apply only to the value of the real property assessable to the owner or, in case of ownership
through stock or membership in a corporation, the value of the proportion which his interest in
the corporation bears to the assessed value of the property. All laws exempting or omitting
property from taxation other than the property above mentioned shall be void. The general
assembly may authorize any incorporated city or town to exempt manufacturing establishments
from municipal taxation, for a period not exceeding five years, as an inducement to their location.
(Amended 11/8/1955)
(Amended 11/2/1971)
(Amended 11/4/1975)
(Amended 11/3/1981)


*** MSTART 062 172.0.5 90.018 0 KY 1890 1981 ***
Notwithstanding contrary provisions of Sections 170, 171, 172, or 174 of this Constitution, the
General Assembly may provide by general law that the governing bodies of county, municipal, and
urban-county governments may declare property assessment or reassessment moratoriums for
qualifying units of real property for the purpose of encouraging the repair, rehabilitation, or
restoration of existing improvements thereon. Prior to the enactment of any property assessment
or reassessment moratorium program, the General Assembly shall provide or direct the local
governing authority to provide property qualification standards for participation in the program
and a limitation on the duration of any assessment or reassessment moratorium. In no instance
shall any such moratorium extend beyond five years for any particular unit of real property and
improvements thereon.
(Added by amendment 11/3/1981)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 063 099.0 9024.0 0 KY 1890 1984 ***
There shall be elected in each county a Judge of the County Court, a County Court Clerk, a
County Attorney, Sheriff, Jailer, Coroner, Surveyor and Assessor, and in each Justice's District
one Justice of the Peace and one Constable, who shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of
their offices on the first Monday in January after their election, and who shall hold their offices
four years until the election and qualification of their successors. 
(Amended 11/1984)

*** MSTART 064 160.0 9017.0 0 KY 1890 1986 ***
The Mayor or Chief Executive, Police Judges, members of legislative boards or councils of towns
and cities shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof: Provided, The Mayor or Chief Executive
and Police Judges of the towns of the fourth, fifth and sixth classes may be appointed or elected as
provided by law. The terms of office of Mayors or Chief Executives and Police Judges shall be
four years, and until their successors shall be qualified, and of members of legislative boards, two
years. When any city of the first or second class is divided into wards or districts, members of
legislative boards shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of said city, but so selected that
an equal proportion thereof shall reside in each of the said wards or districts; but when in any city
of the first, second or third class, there are two legislative boards, the less numerous shall be
selected from and elected by the voters at large of said city; but other officers of towns or cities
shall be elected by the
qualified voters therein, or appointed by the local authorities thereof, as the General Assembly
may, by a general law, provide; but when elected by the voters of a town or city, their terms of
office shall be four years, and until their successors shall be qualified. No Mayor or Chief
Executive of any city of the first or second class, after the expiration of three successive terms of
office to which he has been elected under this Constitution shall be eligible for the succeeding
term. No fiscal officer of any city of the first or second class, after the expiration of the term of
office to which he has been elected under this Constitution, shall be eligible for the succeeding
term. "Fiscal officer" shall not include an Auditor or Assessor, or any other officer whose chief
duty is not the collection or holding of public moneys. The General Assembly shall prescribe the
qualifications of all officers of towns and cities, the manner in and causes for which they may be
removed from office, and how vacancies in such offices may be filled.
(Amended 11/6/1986)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 065 019.0 9002.0 0 KY 1890 1988 ***
(1) No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be enacted. (2)
In any instrument heretofore or hereafter executed purporting to sever the surface and mineral
estates or to grant a mineral estate or to grant a right to extract minerals, which fails to state or
describe in express and specific terms the method of coal extraction to be employed, or where
said instrument contains language subordinating the surface estate to the mineral estate, it shall be
held, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, that the intention of the
parties to the instrument was that the coal be extracted only by the method or methods of
commercial coal extraction commonly known to be in use in Kentucky in the area affected at the
time the instrument was executed, and that the mineral estate be dominant to the surface estate for
the purposes of coal extraction by only the method or methods of commercial coal extraction
commonly known to be in use in Kentucky in the area affected at the time the instrument was
executed.
(Amended 11/8/1988)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 066 226.0 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1988 *** 
(1) The general assembly may establish a Kentucky state lottery and may establish a state lottery
to be conducted in cooperation with other states. Any lottery so established shall be operated by
or on behalf of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

(2) Lotteries and gift enterprises forbidden. Lotteries and gift enterprises are forbidden, and no
privileges shall be granted for such purposes, and none shall be exercised, and no schemes for
similar purposes shall be allowed. The General Assembly shall enforce this section by proper
penalties. All lottery privileges or charters heretofore granted are revoked.
(Amended 11/8/1988)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 067 170.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1990 ***
There shall be exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; places of burial not
held for private or corporate profit; real property owned and occupied by, and personal property
both tangible and intangible owned by, institutions of religion; institutions of purely public charity,
and institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any person or corporation, and the
income of which is devoted solely to the cause of education, public libraries, their endowments,
and the income of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance; household goods of
a Person used in his home; crops grown in the year in which the assessment is made, and in the
hands of the producer; and real property maintained as the permanent residence of the owner,
who is sixty-five years of age or older, or is classified as totally disabled under a program
authorized or administered by an agency of the United States government or by the railroad
retirement system, provided the property owner received disability payments pursuant to such
disability classification, has maintained such disability classification for the entirety of the
particular taxation period, and has filed with the appropriate local assessor by December 31 of the
taxation period, on forms provided therefor, a signed statement indicating continuing disability as
provided herein made under penalty of perjury, up to the assessed valuation of sixty-five hundred
dollars ($6,500) on said residence and contiguous real property, except for assessment for special
benefits. The real property may be held by legal or equitable title, by the entireties, jointly, in
common, as a condominium, or indirectly by the stock ownership or membership representing the
owner's or member's proprietary interest in a corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially in
excess of ninety-eight (98) years. The exemptions shall apply only to the value of the real property
assessable to the owner or, in case of ownership through stock or membership in a corporation,
the value of the proportion which his interest in the corporation bears to the assessed value of the
property. All laws exempting or omitting property from taxation other than the property above
mentioned shall be void. The General Assembly may authorize any incorporated city or town to
exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal taxation, for a period not exceeding five (5)
years, as an inducement to their location. 
(Amended 11/8/1955)
(Amended 11/2/1971)
(Amended 11/4/1975)
(Amended 11/3/1981)
(Amended 11/6/1990)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 068 070.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected for the term of four years by the qualified
voters of the State. They shall be elected jointly by the casting by each voter of a single vote
applicable to both offices, as shall be provided by law. The slate of candidates having the highest
number of votes cast jointly for them for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected; but
if two or more slates of candidates shall be equal and highest in votes, the election shall be
determined by lot in such manner as the General Assembly may direct.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 069 071.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after the expiration of any second
consecutive term for which he shall have been elected.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 070 072.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been
citizens and residents of Kentucky for at least six years next preceding their election. The duties of
the Lieutenant Governor shall be prescribed by law, and he shall have such other duties as
delegated by the Governor.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 071 073.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor shall commence the execution of the duties of their
offices on the fifth Tuesday succeeding their election, and shall continue in the execution thereof
until a successor shall have qualified.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 072 074.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall at stated times receive for the performance of their
duties of their respective offices compensation to be fixed by law.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 073 082.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Lieutenant Governor shall be ineligible to the office of Lieutenant Governor for the
succeeding four (4) years after the expiration of any second consecutive term for which he shall
have been elected.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 074 083.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
(Repealed 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 075 084.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
Should the Governor be impeached and removed from office, die, refuse to qualify, resign, certify
by entry on his Journal that he is unable to discharge the duties of his office, or be, from any
cause, unable to discharge the duties of his office, the Lieutenant Governor shall exercise all the
power and authority appertaining to the office of Governor until another be duly elected and
qualified, or the Governor shall be able to discharge the duties of his office. On the trial of the
Governor, the President of the Senate shall not preside over the proceedings, but the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court shall preside during the trial.

If the Governor, due to physical or mental incapacitation, is unable to discharge the duties of his
office, the Attorney General may petition the Supreme Court to have the Governor declared
disabled. If the Supreme Court determines in a unanimous decision that the Governor is unable to
discharge the duties of his office, the Chief Justice shall certify such disability to the Secretary of
State who shall enter same on the Journal of the Acts of the Governor, and the Lieutenant
Governor shall assume the duties of the Governor, and shall act as Governor until the Supreme
Court determines that the disability of the Governor has ceased to exist. Before the Governor
resumes his duties, the finding of the Court that the disability has ceased shall be certified by the
Chief Justice to the Secretary of State who shall enter such finding on the Journal of the Acts of
the Governor.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 076 085.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
A President of the Senate shall be elected by each Senate as soon after its organization as possible
and as often as there is a vacancy in the office of President, another President of the Senate shall
be elected by the Senate, if in session. And if, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the
Lieutenant Governor shall be impeached and removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, or die,
the President of the Senate shall in like manner administer the government.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 077 086.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The President of the Senate shall receive for his services the same compensation which shall, for
the same period, be allowed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and during the time
he administers the government as Governor, he shall receive the same compensation which the
Governor would have received had he been employed in the duties of his office.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 078 087.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
If the Lieutenant Governor shall be called upon to administer the government in place of the
Governor, and shall, while in such administration, resign, or die during the recess of the Genera(
Assembly, if there be no President of the Senate, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General, for
the time being, to convene the Senate for the purpose of choosing a President; and until a
President is chosen, the Attorney General shall administer the government. If there be no Attorney
General to perform the duties devolved upon him by this section, then the Auditor, for the time
being, shall convene the Senate for the purpose of choosing a President, and shall administer the
government until a President is chosen.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 079 091.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
A Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts' Commissioner of Agriculture, Labor and Statistics,
Secretary of State, and Attorney-General, shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at
the same time the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected, for the term of four years, each
of whom shall be at least thirty years of age at the time of his election, and shall have been a
resident citizen of the State at least two years next before his election. The duties of all these
officers shall be such as may be prescribed by law, and the Secretary of State shall keep a fair
register of and attest all the official acts of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same
and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto before either House of the General
Assembly. The officers named in this section shall enter upon the discharge of their duties the first
Monday in January after their election, and shall hold their offices until their successors are
elected and qualified.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 080 093.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Agriculture,
Labor and Statistics, and Attorney General shall be ineligible to reelection for the succeeding four
years after the expiration of any second consecutive term for which they shall have been elected.
The duties and responsibilities of these officers shall be prescribed by law, and all fees collected by
any of said officers shall be covered into the treasury. Inferior State officers and members of
boards and commissions, not specifically provided for in this Constitution, may be appointed or
elected, in such manner as may be prescribed by law, which may include a requirement of consent
by the Senate, for a term not exceeding four years, and until their successors are appointed or
elected and qualified.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 081 094.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
(Repealed 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 082 095.0 9004.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
The election under this Constitution for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, auditor of
Public Accounts, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Commissioner of Agriculture, Labor
and Statistics, shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, eighteen
hundred and ninety-five, and the same day every four years thereafter.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 083 097.0 9024.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
In the year two thousand, and every six years thereafter, there shall be an election in each county
for a Circuit Court Clerk, and for a Commonwealth's Attorney, in each circuit court district,
unless that office be abolished, who shall hold their respective offices for six years from the first
Monday in January after their election, and until the election and qualification of their successors.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 084 099.0 9024.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
At the regular election in nineteen hundred and ninety-eight and every four years thereafter, there
shall be elected in each county a Judge of the County Court, a County Court Clerk, a County
Attorney, Sheriff, Jailer, Coroner, Surveyor and Assessor, and in each Justice's District one
Justice of the Peace and one Constable, who shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their
offices on the first Monday in January after their election, and who shall hold their offices four
years until the election and qualification of their successors.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 085 148.0 9015.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
Not more than one election each year shall be held in this State or in any city, town, district,
urban-county or county thereof, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. All regular
elections of State, county, city, town, urban-county, or district officers shall be held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. All elections by the people shall be between the
hours of six o'clock a.m. and seven o'clock p.m., but the General Assembly may change said
hours, and all officers of any election shall be residents and voters in the precinct in which they
act. The General Assembly shall provide by law that all employers shall allow employees, under
reasonable regulations, at least four hours on election days, in which to cast their votes.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 086 167.0 9017.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
All officers required to be elected in cities, urban-counties, and towns by this Constitution, or by
general laws enacted in conformity to its provisions, shall be elected at the general elections in
November in even-numbered years.
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 087 226.0 9022.0 0 KY 1890 1992 ***
(1) The General Assembly may establish a Kentucky state lottery and may establish a state lottery
to be conducted in cooperation with other states. Any lottery so established shall be operated by
or on behalf of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

(2) The General Assembly may by general law permit charitable lotteries and charitable gift
enterprises and, if it does so, it shall:
(a) Define what constitutes a charity or charitable organization;
(b) Define the types of charitable lotteries and charitable gift enterprises which may be engaged in;
(c) Set standards for the conduct of charitable lotteries and charitable gift enterprises by charitable
organizations;
(d) Provide for means of accounting for the amount of money raised by lotteries and gift
enterprises and for assuring its expenditure only for charitable purposes;
(e) Provide suitable penalties for violation of statutes relating to charitable lotteries and charitable
gift enterprises; and
(f) Pass whatever other general laws the General Assembly deems necessary to assure the proper
functioning, honesty, and integrity of charitable lotteries and charitable gift enterprises, and the
charitable purposes for which the funds are expended.
(3) Except as provided in this section, lotteries and gift enterprises are forbidden, and no
privileges shall be granted for such purposes, and none shall be exercised, and no schemes for
similar purposes shall be allowed. The General Assembly shall enforce this section by proper
penalties. All lottery privileges or charters heretofore granted are revoked.
(Amended 11/8/1988)
(Amended 11/3/1992)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 088 156.0 9017.0 0 KY 1890 1994 ***
(Repealed 11/8/1994)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 089 156.5 9017 0 KY 1890 1994 ***
The General Assembly may provide for the creation, alteration of boundaries, consolidation,
merger, dissolution, government, functions, and officers of cities. The General Assembly shall
create such classifications of cities as it deems necessary based on population, tax base, form of
government, geography, or any other reasonable basis and enact legislation relating to the
classifications. All legislation relating to cities of a certain classification shall apply equally to all
cities within the same classification. The classification of all cities and the law pertaining to the
classifications in effect at the time of adoption of this section shall remain in effect until otherwise
provided by law.
(Added by Amendment 11/8/1994)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 090 156.7 9017 0 KY 1890 1994 ***
The General Assembly may provide by general law that cities may exercise any power and
perform any function within their boundaries that is in furtherance of a public purpose of a city
and not in conflict with a constitutional provision or statute.
(Added by Amendment 11/8/1994)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 091 157.0 9017.0 0 KY 1890 1994 ***
The tax rate of cities, counties, and taxing districts, for other than school purposes, shall not, at
any time, exceed the following rates upon the value of the taxable property therein: For all cities
having a population of fifteen thousand or more, one dollar and fifty cents on the hundred dollars;
for all cities having less than fifteen thousand and not less than ten thousand, one dollar on the
hundred dollars; for all cities having less than ten thousand, seventy-five cents on the hundred
dollars; and for counties and taxing districts, fifty cents on the hundred dollars.
(Amended 11/8/1994)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 092 157.5 9017 0 KY 1890 1994 ***
Prior to each fiscal year, the legislative body of each city, county, and taxing district shall adopt a
budget showing total expected revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year. No city, county, or
taxing district shall expend any funds in any fiscal year in excess of the revenues for that fiscal
year. A city, county, or taxing district may amend its budget for a fiscal year, but the revised
expenditures may not exceed the revised revenues. As used in this section, "revenues" shall mean
all income from every source, including unencumbered reserves carried over from the previous
fiscal year, and "expenditures" shall mean all funds to be paid out for expenses of the city, county,
or taxing district during the fiscal year, including amounts necessary to pay the principal and
interest due during the fiscal year on any debt.
(Amended 11/8/1994)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 093 158.0 9017.0 0 KY 1890 1994 ***
Cities, towns, counties, and taxing districts shall not incur indebtedness to an amount exceeding
the following maximum percentages on the value of the taxable property therein, to be estimated
by the last assessment previous to the incurring of the indebtedness: Cities having a population of
fifteen thousand or more, ten percent (10%); cities having a population of less than fifteen
thousand but not less than three thousand, five percent (5%); cities having a population of less
than three thousand, three percent (3%); and counties and taxing districts, two percent (2%),
unless in case of emergency, the public health or safety should so require. Nothing shall prevent
the issue of renewal bonds, or bonds to fund the floating indebtedness of any city, county, or
taxing district. Subject to the limits and conditions set forth in this section and elsewhere in this
Constitution, the General Assembly shall have the power to establish additional limits on
indebtedness and conditions under which debt may be incurred by cities, counties, and taxing
districts.
(Amended 11/8/1994)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 094 180.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1996 ***
Every act enacted by the General Assembly, and every ordinance and resolution passed by any
county, city, town or municipal board or local legislative body, levying a tax, shall specify
distinctly the purpose for which said tax is levied, and no tax levied and collected for one purpose
shall ever be devoted to another purpose.
(Amended 11/5/1996)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 095 187.0 9007.0 0 KY 1890 1996 ***
In distributing the school fund no distinction shall be made on account of race or color.
(Amended 11/5/1996)
*** MEND ***

*** MSTART 096 170.0 9018.0 0 KY 1890 1998 ***
There shall be exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; places of burial not
held for private or corporate profit; real property owned and occupied by, and personal property
both tangible and intangible owned by, institutions of religion; institutions of purely public charity,
and institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any person or corporation, and the
income of which is devoted solely to the cause of education, public libraries, their endowments,
and the income of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance; household goods of
a person used in his home; crops grown in the year in which the assessment is made, and in the
hands of the producer; and real property maintained as the permanent residence of the owner,
who is sixty-five years of age or older, or is classified as totally disabled under a program
authorized or administered by an agency of the United States government or by any retirement
system either within or without the Commonwealth of Kentucky, provided the property owner
received disability payments pursuant to such disability classification, has maintained such
disability classification for the entirety of the particular taxation period, and has filed with the
appropriate local assessor by December 31 of the taxation period, on forms provided therefor, a
signed statement indicating continuing disability as provided herein made under penalty of perjury,
up to the assessed valuation of sixty-five hundred dollars on said residence and contiguous real
property, except for assessment for special benefits, The real property may be held by legal or
equitable title, by the entireties, jointly, in common, as a condominium, or indirectly by the stock
ownership or membership representing the owner's or member's proprietary interest in a
corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially in excess of ninety-eight years. The exemptions
shall apply only to the value of the real property assessable to the owner or, in case of ownership
through stock or membership in a corporation, the value of the proportion which his interest in
the corporation bears to the assessed value of the property. The General Assembly may authorize
any incorporated city or town to exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal taxation,
for a period not exceeding five years, as an inducement to their location. Notwithstanding the
provisions of Sections 3, 172, and 174 of this Constitution to the contrary, the General Assembly
may provide by law an exemption for all or any portion of the property tax for any class of
personal property.
(Amended 11/8/1955)
(Amended 11/2/1971)
(Amended 11/4/1975)
(Amended 11/3/1981)
(Amended 11/6/1990)
(Amended 11/3/1998)
*** MEND ***